Happy Feature Friday!

Christmas is a week away and to give you some last minute baking inspiration is Marcella Dilonardo, creator of the blog Modest Marce. She’s provided us with her Eggnog Cake recipe which is sure to please all your holiday guests! It’s definitely a unique take on a classic holiday drink and as Marcella states in her blog, the eggnog flavor is there but isn’t overpowering. If your household is anything like ours, you have some super fans of eggnog and some who won’t go near it. This eggnog cake would be the perfect way to get your family to enjoy eggnog in a different way. It’s also a great way to use any leftover eggnog after the holidays. Along with the recipe, Marcella took the time to answer a few questions about how she started baking and shared tips for holiday entertaining! Happy Baking!

: Tell us a little about yourself.

: I am a food blogger from Toronto, Canada! I love baking, food styling & photography. My favourite things to make are cakes & pies because I love putting all the different designs into them.

: How did both your baking and blogging journey begin?

: My baking journey began when I was a little kid. I was always baking sugar cookies & cakes with either my aunt or mom (okay, maybe I was more so eating cookie dough & cake batter next to them). When I was 6 or 7 years old I received an easy bake oven for my birthday & from then on I was always obsessed with being in the kitchen. In high school I also watched the Food Network non-stop. I am a huge fan of Ina Garten, everything she makes is absolutely perfect. I am also very much into cooking, but for my blog I try to stick to baking because it is so fun to style & photography. My blogging journey began early this year after feeling unfulfilled with my office job. I needed something more creative & something more me. I put all my heart into it & pretty much all my spare time. I learned everything I could about food photography & food styling. Never did I think things would take off so fast & I would be collaborating with my favourite websites & lifestyle brands.

: What do you love about baking for the holidays?

: I love everything Christmas. I am totally a Christmas enthusiast. I love decorating sugar cookies, attempting gingerbread houses & creating unique desserts for my Christmas dinner. My mom always puts me on dessert duty, obviously. This year I am thinking something with salted caramel since I am slowly becoming known for my love of salted desserts!

: Do you have any tips for making baking and holiday entertaining a breeze?

: Yes! Make as much as you can ahead of time. Freeze cookie dough, freeze the cake layers. Get all the prep done you possibly can. Also time what foods need the longest cooking time. Most of us only have one oven which can be a hassle when you are making various dishes PLUS a big turkey. My other tip for the holidays/everyday is to clean as you go in the kitchen. I hate having piles of dirty dishes in the sink so I try to clean up the things I am done with as a bake.

Ingredients

for the cake

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups raw sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon dark rum or rum extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup eggnog

for the frosting

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup eggnog
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon rum or rum extract

directions

• pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.
• in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment cream butter & sugar until light and fluffy. add eggs one a time, followed by vanilla & rum.
• in a separate bowl sift flour, baking powder, salt & nutmeg. add the dry ingredients to the the wet ingredients, alternating with the eggnog.
• grease & flour two 8-inch round cake pans. evenly distribute the batter.
• bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the cakes bounce back to touch.
• while the cakes are in the oven, begin to make the cooked frosting. in a frying pan over medium heat add flour, salt & eggnog. stir until the mixture is clump free. cook (constantly stirring) until the mixture has thickened. remove from heat & let cool completely.
• once the eggnog flour mixture has cooled beat butter, sugar, vanilla & rum extract until light and fluffy. add the eggnog flour mixture.
• frost cakes as desired. i decorated with pine needles, cinnamon sticks & cranberries!